Tobias Jesso Jr. Quotes

I consider myself to be an inept pianist, a bad singer, and a merely competent songwriter. What I do, in my opinion, is by no means extraordinary.

I think I love it more as I get older because I keep getting better on drums, vibes and piano.

There were times I thought I was going to turn to the blues, but then I'd hear better blues players.

I play guitar a bit. I'm trying to learn drums - I feel like I can play violin. I've never tried, but I just feel like I can.

I have to practice to be good at guitar. I have to write 100 songs before you write the first good one.

I've never mastered the guitar. Either I was playing it, or it was playing me; it depends how you look at it. As a kid, the only things I had to do was go to school, do my homework, and play guitar.

You have a natural groove inside of you, but the more you practise, the more comfortable you will be with your instrument.

I don't think I'm getting better, quote unquote, as a singer or guitar player. But I'm more comfortable in this particular space. I get better at being a bad singer, so to speak.

When I was much younger I tried to play guitar and bass first. Drums were just the easiest thing for me to play. I picked it up really quickly.

I'm a horrible musician, but I've been fortunate enough to play great songs.

Age isn't a barrier to playing the bass, and I've definitely improved over the years, although maybe I'm not as flash as I once was. But looking back, I can't imagine a life without a guitar.

The biggest challenge for me was Get Rhythm. I don't know why.

I wish I'd gone to music school or just started playing in bands sooner.

People don't understand what music really is. I've been a musician since I was 6 years old. I got my first piano, was playing recitals at 8, 10 I picked up a guitar, 12 I picked up my first Pearl Master drum set. I was an artist before I was an 'artist.'

I wish I was a shredder that could play everything, but I don't have the patience.

I'm a slow learner. When people are so talented or facile at picking up an instrument and playing covers, like Yo La Tengo, I admire that. But I could never do that.

I'm not everybody's cup of tea. But sometimes criticism can be hurtful. Be respectful. I'm a good piano player, I can sing well, I write good songs. If you don't like it, fair enough. But give me a break.

I play no instruments.

Playing guitar is not a beauty contest.

Why would you want to stand there waving a stick when you could be playing an instrument?

My father was in a dance band, and I wanted to do what he did, play the saxophone, but I couldn't blow a note, so he suggested the guitar. Chromatic harmonica was actually my first instrument, and I got very good at it - not quite Stevie Wonder, but very good.

My harmony is passable but is usually made more eloquent at the hands of Steve Hamilton.

My secret dream has always been to be a jazz musician. I tried the saxophone for a year or two when I was younger, but unfortunately I had to face the fact that I was not really talented!

I'd rather play a tune on a horn, but I've always felt that I didn't want to train myself. Because when you get a train, you've got to have an engine and a caboose. I think it's better to train the caboose. You train yourself, you strain yourself.

I promise you, if you look at YouTube and see some of my first covers, you will hear that I don't sound good. But I was so obsessed with it and wanted so much to be good at it that I forced myself to figure out what sounds right and what sounds wrong.